Identifying the neighborhood
Understanding various call types
Making local calls
Making toll calls
Making calls within your state
Making out-of-state calls
Making calls in outlying areas and internationally
You use terms like local call and long-distance call all the time, but you may not know what differentiates a local call from a long-distance call. The federal government sets strict guidelines to stipulate when a local carrier can complete a call, and when the carrier must send it to a long-distance carrier. The need for these distinctions began a long time ago, when each state was broken down into small, geographic neighborhoods called LATAs (Local Access Transport Areas). Put simply, a LATA is the local region that makes up local telephone service area.
When you understand how LATAs function, the rest of it comes naturally. This chapter helps you understand the structure of the world of telecom so that you can make informed decisions on what you need from your carrier.